Pennsylvania metalcore juggernaut War of Ages continue their sonic journey on their 10th album Dominion, shifting away from some of the more experimental ideas on their previous album Void and incorporating more their characteristic heavy elements into the songs.
War of Ages just played a 20th anniversary show in their hometown of Erie, PA, which should tell you something about the staying power of the band and the love of their music. Their first album on the Facedown Records imprint Strike First Records in 2005 first caught my attention as it was close to traditional/old-school hardcore with guitar solos, two things I dearly love in music. Over the years, the band has toured with the likes of Battlecross, Throwdown, As I Lay Dying and more and worked with legendary hardcore/metalcore producer Zeuss (Hatebreed, Shadows Fall) as well as Josh Barber (Norma Jean) and Will Putney (Impending Doom, For Today). Most bands that have been around as long as WoA have endured lineup changes over the years, but the band was hit by tragedy in 2022 with the death of longtime drummer Caleb Luebchow, whose last contributions are on Dominion. The album itself is the band’s first concept album and end up being much darker in terms of tone and subject matter as it uses the book of Revelation as subject matter and the songs dealing with the fall of the world, death, and judgement. Similar to their last album guitarist Jack Daniels handled the engineering production and mastering duties.
War of Ages have stayed fairly true to their original sound over the years which is a good thing as they’ve always had heavy riffs, great guitar solos and Leroy Hamp’s gritty screaming vocals which are instantly recognizable and tailor-made for the genre to the point I would liken them to those of Jamey Jasta (Hatebreed) or Andrew Schwab (Project 86). Once you hear the vocals, you know instantly who it is. What I’ve mentioned in my review of Alpha (2017) and Void (2019) is that the intensity seems to have been taken away compared to earlier releases and I think that largely falls on production/mixing/mastering. All the rough edges have been rounded off and as a result, the overall sound moves them closer to sounding like every other metalcore band. I was trying to figure out why Dominion just didn’t have the impact I was expecting when listening to it and it became clear to me when Spotify decided to play “Desire” from Eternal (2010) once Dominion ended. My ears instantly perked up and I thought to myself, now this is what I was looking for only to find it was a now 13 year old track from the band. I guess I haven’t matured with the band, but that is what I was looking for and what is missing in my opinion with the new material.
On the surface, “Famine” opens up like some of the older War of Ages songs and performed live may be mistaken for older material. This brings up an interesting point about Dominion in that it takes a lot fewer chances musically than Void and lets the band stay within their strengths. You have everything from the great, screamed vocals of Leroy Hamp to the machine gun/sledgehammer heavy riffs to fast sections all held down by a pounding rhythm section. I would love to see a live set of this material.
Given the dark, ominous, apocalyptic focus of most of the album, “Dominus” stands out as being one of the more diverse tracks lyrically and could almost be a song of praise. Forever a band that never hid their Christian beliefs, this should not be a surprise and War of Ages show here their talent and abilities in crafting a song with such a focus that maintains a heavy edge and has enough twists and turns and breakdowns to remain interesting even to non-believers.
“Victorum” shows the band highlighting some the electronic elements and those become more prominent later in “Death” which is one of the more different tracks on the album in general. From the very beginning “Death” has an interesting electronic element to it that remains prominent through much of the song and provides a good contrast to the staccato riffs and fills in some of the empty spaces in the song. Hamp’s vocals get a bit of electronic treatment as well but it somewhat subtle and the clean chorus works very well and is catchy. Of course, there is a heavy breakdown section punctuated by Hamp’s screamed vocals and some well-placed guitar solos, which are elements to all the songs on the album.
In the middle of the album, there are three of the heavier tracks, “War”, “Apocalypsis”, and “Armageddon”, with “Apocalpysis” and “Armageddon” being the standout tracks, in particular “Armageddon” which also highlights Kaleb Luebchow’s drumming and the bass of Elisha Mullins. These songs do stick to a bit of the formula War of Ages has used over the years in terms of song structure and arrangement, but with performances as strong as they are, this is not a criticism. In a similar vein, I still love AC/DC, Hatebreed, Sick of It All and many other bands often criticized for not changing their sound. When you’re this good, it works.
War of Ages have returned to their roots and released a metalcore album filled with everything one would want and they have done so in a way that will ring true to their longtime fans while gaining the interest of new listeners looking for heavy chugging riffs, epic breakdowns, and powerful, intense vocals. To me, one sign of a good album is one that makes me want to see the band live and Dominion has me checking War of Ages tour schedule.
Rating: 8/10
Written by John Jackson
Tracklist
- Famine
- Dominus
- Victorum
- War
- Apocalypse
- Armageddon
- Death
- Laodicea
- Horror
- Misery
Band Members
Steve Brown – Guitar
Jack Daniels – Guitar
Leroy Hamp – Vocals
Kaleb Luebchow – Drums
Elisha Mullins – Bass/Vocals
Release Date: Sept. 15th. 2023
Record Label: Facedown Records
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Video (audio) for ‘Dominus’
Video (audio) for ‘Laodicea’
Video (audio) for ‘Apocalypsis’